Wait for it
by LoveHGSS
Summary: Summary – Set directly before the end scene in 'The Magician's Code part II'. Barney is home with Quinn but something just doesn't feel right. When Quinn saves them both a lot of pain, what does Barney do with her advice? T for language.


_Summary – Set directly before the end scene in 'The Magician's Code part II'. Barney is home with Quinn but something just doesn't feel right. When Quinn saves them both a lot of pain, what does Barney do with her advice? T for language._

Barney Stinson had felt many things in his life. One of the things he'd never quite comprehended was confusion. He had been lost a time or two, but he'd never had a problem digging himself out of a hole. But, oh, was he in a deep one now.

He sat at the edge of his bed, his newly crowned fiancé fast asleep beneath the bright pink covers. He smiled slightly, knowing she was the only one with enough guts to do what she did. He knew he deserved it after he had just walked away. Another's face suddenly flashed before his eyes and he tried to shake it away for the hundredth – no, millionth – time. A voice in the back of his head kept nagging at him, telling him that Quinn wasn't the _only_ one who would do such a thing. He sighed and reminded that voice that there had been plenty of times that the path of him and another had been crossed and re-crossed too many times to count now.

Robin Scherbatsky was not a woman he should be thinking about on the day of his engagement to Quinn. Yet there he was, pondering what the look they had shared only a few hours previous meant. Robin had given him that look. That look that he couldn't get out of his head. That look he had seen so many times when they were together. That look that screamed 'I love you'. She couldn't, though. There was no way. Or was there?

Barney heaved out another breath, more annoyed with himself for taking the time to evaluate the situation than the actual situation itself. It was asinine, to think that Robin would have feelings for him after all this time. That voice was back, whispering in his ear that in their world, it had been no time at all. He'd waited for her for what felt like an eternity once, but that hadn't panned out. They had moved on. Or at least he thought they had. Or at least he thought _she_ had. He promised himself a long time ago that he'd never open himself up to that kind of torture again. The pain of fighting for someone only to lose them in the end was nearly unbearable.

A sleepy groan filled the room, causing Barney to jump, his head snapping to look at Quinn as if he'd been caught doing something wrong. She mumbled and turned in her sleep, wrapping the blanket tighter around her bare shoulder. He slumped forward, his head falling into his hands. Robin's face was waiting for him behind his eyelids, that special smile lighting her face. He promptly sat back up, not ready to face those demons again.

Thinking perhaps he was just having very early pre-wedding jitters, he climbed back up the bed and slid beneath the covers. Quinn hummed contently as he formed his front to her back, taking his usual position as 'big spoon' behind her. He buried his face in her blonde hair, inhaling her familiar scent. But it wasn't right. It wasn't _her_. He clenched his jaw as the undeniable truth came crashing down around him.

Barney had never gotten over Robin.

Not even by a little bit, he realized suddenly. His heart still yearned for her. He wanted her, _needed_ her. She'd made him feel things that no one else ever had before – love and hate and sorrow and joy all at the same time. She was his rollercoaster but it was his favorite ride in the park of life. Quinn was the second ride, the one guaranteed to always be open and there when you were looking for a smooth ride, but that wasn't Barney. He was settling and he knew it now. Perhaps he had always known it, but didn't want to admit it because he didn't want to hurt Quinn.

His eyes opened. He briefly wondered when he'd become so sensitive, so conscious of other's feelings. Robin. She'd done it to him. She's opened his eyes to the world of loving and being loved, of give and take. She'd taught him so much in a short period of time and he hadn't fully appreciated everything until it was too late. He stared at the pink walls of his bedroom and it wasn't funny anymore. It made his stomach churn and his blood boil. He felt sick.

"Barney?"

Barney stayed completely still, hoping with every fiber of his being that she'd not say another word and leave him to his internal turmoil.

"Barney?" Quinn said again, much more awake this time.

He resisted the urge to sigh irritably. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly. "Something's wrong."

A million replies popped up in his head. He could lie; he could tell her the Olympics called him up. He could say a relative died and he needed to move immediately. Maybe an incurable disease…

"It's her, isn't it? Robin?"

_Am I dreaming?_ he thought. "What are you talking about?" he said with a brisk laugh. "Go back to sleep, Quinn. You must have been having one of those strange dreams again."

"I don't ever have strange dreams," she retorted. "Barney, I'm not an idiot. I nearly handed you your ring back today at Marshal and Lily's. I was hoping you'd man up before too long, but apparently I'm going to have to do it for you."

Barney sat up, pinched himself, and winced in pain. Nope, still awake. "Quinn…"

"Don't you 'Quinn' me, Barney Stinson. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I was hoping Hawaii would be our break up trip anyway. No offense," she said with a yawn, finally turning over to look at his stunned expression, "but I'm not keen on being second best. A woman always knows."

"I don't… I don't understand," he said finally.

Quinn groaned. "I found an engagement ring yesterday." Barney's eyebrows came together. "One major problem: I'm not wearing the one I found."

Realization hit him like a hundred ton wrecking ball. He'd bought another ring once upon a time…a time when he thought Robin would leave that dipshit and fly into his open arms. It hadn't happened that way, though.

"Damn it, Barney!" Quinn shouted. "Say _something_!"

"I don't deserve you."

Shock overtook Quinn's features. "No, you don't," she replied. "Look, Barney, I know you love me, and I love you, but it's…I'm not her. And that's okay. I'm going to be okay."

The next hour was a blur, Quinn packing her things and leaving, Barney bumbling around, trying to apologize. It all fell on deaf ears, of course. Quinn had made up her mind and nothing was about to change that. Barney's half-hearted attempts to get her to stay only seemed to make things worse, so he quickly dropped it. He did stop her at the door and pull her into a long hug.

"I do love you," he murmured into her ear. "And I'm sorry that I'm too messed up to love you the way you need."

Unwanted tears rose up in Quinn's eyes. "It's the right thing. I feel it in my soul, babe. We're going to go our separate ways stronger people. Word of advice though…"

"Go ahead," he prompted when she didn't continue.

Quinn pulled back and cupped Barney's cheeks. For a split second, he wanted to tell her to stay, but that vanished when she smiled. It wasn't _that_ smile.

"Love her," she said. "Don't let this sit and wait. I know you're going to feel terrible for awhile about me, but don't. I promise I'll be fine. You need to go to her and tell her how you feel before you lose her again. And once you get her, don't let her go, alright?"

"I really don't deserve you," Barney said with a sigh, leaning down for one last kiss. Quinn allowed it, planting a solid kiss on his lips for the very last time.

"I love you, you stupid jerk. Don't call me."

"I love you, too, you wonderful psycho."

They shared one more smile before Quinn grabbed her suitcase and headed out the door. Barney barely had a moment to collect himself before his cell rang. Thinking it might be Quinn, changing her mind, he hurried to answer it, not even looking at the caller ID before answering.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry, I," he managed to get out before being cut off.

"Don't marry her."

Had he not been near the back of his couch, he would have fell to his knees. He grasped the leather sofa that was still draped in pink blankets, his knees buckling and threatening to give out completely.

"Robin?" he breathed into the phone.

He heard a loud sniffle. "Barney… I'm sorry but… please. Don't marry her."

"Where are you?" he asked suddenly.

"I'm a-at home," she hiccupped.

"Stay there," he ordered into the phone before disconnecting the line. His phone rang almost immediately after he ended the call, but he threw his phone aside and raced to grab his jacket. He turned back to grab one more thing before flying out the door and running the many blocks to get to Robin's apartment. It felt like it took hours and hours. He was only two blocks away when suddenly the night sky opened up and cold rain came down like waves atop him. He paused, bending in half and taking in wet, ragged breaths as a burn began in his thighs.

"Damn you, Scherbatsky," he panted.

Looking up, he gauged the distance and restarted his earlier pace. He made it to her doorstep in less than two minutes. He insistently pressed her buzzer, not even giving her a chance to speak over the intercom. He was surprised when he saw her jog into the foyer and throw open the door, looking stunning even with her hair a mess and in a plain grey t-shirt and dark denim jeans.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she yelled over the near-deafening downpour.

"_You_ called _me_, remember?" he yelled back, wanting to smack her and kiss her all at the same time as he met her bloodshot eyes.

Robin worried her bottom lip and averted her eyes, looking unexpectedly ashamed.

"Well, here I am!" he said, throwing his arms up in the air in defeat. "I'm here, Robin. What do you want from me?"

"I don't know!" she cried, her voice breaking. "I'm sorry I called you, Barney."

Frustrated, Barney walked down her steps onto the sidewalk and began to pace. For a moment, Robin thought he was leaving and she hurried after him, only to nearly run into him when he turned back around. They hurriedly backed away from each other, putting a good six feet between them.

"I don't know what to say, Barney… It was stupid that I called. I'm going to go back inside. Go back home to Quinn, okay?"

"I love you!" he screamed at her. "Damn you, Robin, I love you! And I hate you! I have never hated someone so much in my entire life but I love you so much it hurts! You had better not walk another step towards that door or I'm not coming back!"

Robin's hands came up to cover her mouth, which had dropped open in shock. His words rooted her to the ground, disabling her from being able to breathe, let alone move.

"I'm only saying this once, so you better listen up. Got it?"

Robin could only nod dumbly. It wasn't often she was rendered speechless, but Barney was really good at doing that to her.

"Quinn left. Her and I were…she wasn't you, alright? She knew it, I knew it, it was never going to work. But you," he said with a maniacal laugh, "_you_, Scherbatsky brought me down with a single smile. One smile! ONE!"

She watched him run his fingers through his short blonde hair before wiping the rain off his face, only for another few buckets to fall on it. He advanced toward her, slowly at first, trying to gauge her reaction. With trepidation, he reached out and grasped her upper arms.

"I love you," he said, his voice near a whisper. "And I don't want this to be a crazy rollercoaster relationship anymore. When I proposed to Quinn, it wasn't her face I saw when I asked her that question. It wasn't the ring I imagined giving to someone." Barney reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a platinum band with a sizable square cut diamond in the middle. "This is the ring I imagine handing over. The one with _our_ names engraved on the inside."

"Don't," she begged.

"Don't ask you?"

"Not on the same day you asked her," she corrected, her own words shocking her.

Barney quickly rolled up his sleeve, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. Without warning, he dropped to one knee before her. He yanked on her arms until he was finally able to take her hands into his.

"It's 11:58, so I have less than two minutes to give a damn good speech." Barney cleared his throat and looked up into her eyes. "Robin Charles Scherbatsky Jr., I remember some time ago being outside your door in the pouring rain. I also remember a time when you said you couldn't shake the feeling that we belonged together, no matter how stupid I was and not realizing who you were talking about. Here we are again and I believe that more than ever now. You're my best friend, both guy and girl. I love you. I can't promise it'll be perfect all the time but, now that it's 11:59, I can promise if you agree to marry me that we'll make something that's legen…."

"Yes."

"Dary," he finished in a whisper.

"I've waited for it long enough, Barney. Yes."

With shaking hands, Barney slid the ring onto Robin's finger, his heart swelling with something he had never felt before. He stood in a rush, his hands sweeping into her hair and bringing her face to his with such ferocity that he worried for a moment he may have busted her lip. Robin didn't care, though. She kissed him back with gusto, allowing the emotions she'd held back for so long to come pouring out into the kiss.

They stood kissing for an immeasurable amount of time. It was Robin who finally broke off the kiss, but only long enough to look into Barney's tear-filled eyes. He promptly made a blundering comment about how rain kept getting in his eyes. She just smiled and shook her head.

"I love you, Barney Stinson."

"And I love you, future Mrs. Barney Stinson." A massive smiled appeared on his face. Any protest of changing her last name suddenly vanished. "Oh, yeah! Me as a chick version. You'll play that role perfectly!"

Robin rolled her eyes. "Yeah… life with you sure it going to be a riot, isn't it?"

"Like I said… It's going to be legen…. wait for it-"

_The End._

_A/N – Please take just a moment out to review! Whether one word a thousand, I love to hear what you think! Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!_


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